I was pleasantly surprised by the vintage article "The Pollards Hill Railway". Despite the differing standards from then to now I thought the pictures, particularly the long view of the station, captured the feel of the prototype better than many other layouts of the day and for some years to come.

The technical achievements were also somewhat understated, I thought. I wonder how the builder managed to cope with the combination of a soft tweed track underlay, the need for the end curves to be cut into so many sections by the need to fold the baseboard away for storage, and the fairly sharp radii involved (between 22 and 24 ins radius I'd estimate). Deep wheel flanges may have helped but I suspect the track-laying needed to be exemplary.

Despite the differences in wiring techniques of the 1930s, a little more on the interlocking between the signals and track sections would have been welcome. Come to think of it, where were the signal motors located? No large Hornby Dublo style bases for the signals, but on the other hand the baseboard did not look deep enough to have the solenoids (probably quite large in those days, pehaps) hidden beneath the baseboard and the panelling needed to create the window seat when not in operation.

In passing, I live near an area called Pollards Hill in SW London. I wonder if this was the site of the layout?

[quote="Jordan"][quote="steve"]I was a little surprised and modestly pleased to see I was "mentioned in dispatches".

steve [/quote]
Did it make you feel old, though..??
I still have my entire 1980 & 1981 Model Trains collections, although some are not my originals, which I often wore out with much re-reading..!![/quote]